Meet Rosie

So we'd like you to meet Rosie...
We have enjoyed having a dog for 7 years now. We had a guinea pig too for almost 4 years (but she recently passed on to a better place). Now we have a new pet. A cat. Katie insists she is annoying, but since Katie has to take care of her (and sleep in the same room with her) and I only have to pet her while sitting on the couch, I think she's quite nice! :-)

She's cute, a little shy (especially around our dog) and very curious. She is my natural consequence for offering my daughter a pet if she successfully cleaned her room every day.

Priceless.

It doesn't seem like it should be such a big deal. Just bought new curtains and rod for library window. The instructions say it takes 30 minutes to install...

Yesterday's demolition of the old, yucky blinds took 30 minutes...

Today's installation took 1 hour and 45 minutes...

Then the ritual staring and adjustments took another 30 minutes...

Total time--2 hours and 45 minutes.

Transformed library: priceless! ;-)

Soccer 2011

Finally the soccer photos and video are here. Katie really enjoyed soccer this year and made some friends. The coach was great too. Last night's game was really cold though and I'm glad we're almost finished for the season!!!

End of the Season Tomatoes

Became tomato juice...

Treasures found...

Spent a lovely long weekend with my mum sorting through boxes of books, albums and old memories. It was amazing to see old family bibles, books and other items. I saw a Thiessen book which charts our family back to the 1700's and even has my name in it! It also was an opportunity to clear out items that we no longer use or need, or which do not bring joy.

One especially neat find connects to my recent visit with my aunt (my dad's sister) when I spent some time asking her questions about family history and my dad. One of her memories of their time in Russia after the communists took over is that they were not allowed to worship publicly. She remembered that their mom (my Oma) would read from a book of sermons to the family on Sundays. I think we found this book. It is a book of sermons, written in Gothic German and published in 1896 in Russia. Inside the book I found a postcard for my aunt (which I am sending her) written to her before her marriage but after they moved to Canada. It is so neat to find these connections to the past, even as we are launching into the future.

For me, the joy is in knowing of the faith my ancestors held, and in hopefulness that I am passing the legacy of faith in God on to my children and they to theirs, and on and on...

...this treasure of knowing God will bring abundant life and freedom to the generations that follow and possibly to others who might know God because of them.

"Come sail away, come sail away with me..."

Along the lovely Illinois River, we enjoyed a day of sailing and relaxation. Bret converted our canoe into a sailing vessel to try out the sport and (I think) because he wanted to see if he could do it. He has enjoyed some lovely summer and early fall sailing trips.

Katie and August don't mind getting in on the action and Schwarz is always glad for an excuse to get wet! We had a lovely time.

Unfortunately the winds did not cooperate for a return sail, so the captain and crew came back the hard way.

Home Again...

I guess that's enough for the "travels west" blogs...since returning home we've been busy with yard work, gardening, clean up from the trip, shopping and preparing for back to school routines...you get the picture. We camped (as we always do) for Labor Day weekend and Bret enjoyed sailing in his converted canoe. We relaxed and swam in the lake. We camped with friends and enjoyed fellowship, singing around the campfire, sharing devotionals and spiritual growth. Now we're settling back into fall routines. Canning is almost done and soon I'll be making soap again.

Travels West--Adventure Rocks!

We made friends with a bear and rustled up some cattle on the open range...

Then...we found some dinosaurs...well actually they found us--rather tasty! :-)

Travels West--Mount St. Helens

We travelled south to see the mountain that erupted in 1980. I remember hearing about it because we lived not so far away and could even see the dust cloud in the distance. It was kind of cool to finally go there and see it first hand. It was only captured in a few glimpses however, due to the heavy fog.

Hiking around along the mountain side in the National Parks. We remembered that bear and cougar live in these mountains and we were cautious to keep our eyes and ears open! Our junior rangers enjoyed the chance to explore the wilderness and see some unique views. We especially noticed the tall and wide and straight trees that grow in the western woods.

Travels West--Harbours and Seals

We bought some frozen fish to feed the harbour seals. These are actually wild animals, but they just hang around hoping some silly tourists like us will come feed them--and we did--twice!

We climbed out along a rocky outcropping into the harbor and watched the sunset. We then went out to a restaurant called "The Old Spaghetti Factory" and had some yummy pasta. It was a great family night!

Travels West--Wow...

Vancouver Island is a beautiful place. I forgot how much I miss the views of the mountains. The ferry across to the island was invigorating. I also forgot how cool the breeze is--even in summer.

A newly blended family... We celebrated together at a lovely park on the beach the anticipated arrival of the newest member of our families...

Travels West--The Wedding

My brother found this very lovely lady on Vancouver Island. And in a lovely fairy tale fashion, they got married. Katie was delighted to be a flower girl (one of several flower children) and Bret was honored to be asked to stand with my brother. It was a beautiful ceremony and we look forward to sharing the many years ahead with them.

Travels West--Fun with the Fam

The ladies went out to get fixed up before the wedding (Ang's brother got married). Katie was thrilled to have her hair styled (curls all around). Below--fun with the cousins. The kids had such a blast hanging out together.

We spent a whole week with Ang's brother Stephen and his family. It was a really special time.

Travels West -- The Grand Canyon

A quiet moment along the rim of the canyon. Katie spent a lot of time trying to sight different animals in their natural habitat. She's working on her junior ranger certification form in the picture above.

After our guided hike into the canyon we enjoyed a break at Hermit's Rest. While at the canyon we saw elk, deer, lizards, California condor, and lots and lots of squirrels.

Travels West -- The Grand Canyon

Two junior rangers just lounging around. They earned their badges in Grand Canyon National Park and in Mt. Saint Helens National Park.

The Grand Canyon was one of the highlights of our trip and is truly GRAND! Our breath was stolen away at the first glimpse. It's magnitude is a shock even when you're prepared. We had a lovely time hiking along the rim and down into the canyon (just about 1 mile down).

Below is a tall wispy plant which grows along the steep canyon walls. Bret especially found them fascinating. We also saw California Condors (two!) gliding around over the canyon.

It was a fabulous view over the ridge and we found ourselves drawn to it again and again.

Travels West--Hoover Dam

We traveled west this summer. Originally we had planned to travel by train, but the flooding in the north central plains caused us to cancel these plans and book our flight only a week before our departure! I might have panicked, but my amazing hubby brought home a powerpoint presentation outlining the advantages to flying (through Las Vegas) and seeing the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam. These pictures are from our stop at Hoover Dam. We rented a car in Las Vegas and drove by the dam on our way to the Grand Canyon, only a four hour drive.

Hoover Dam is REALLY BIG!!!

I made the kids journal a few times during the trip about their impressions and things they enjoyed. Although they complained about this, I'm so glad they did it! I'll include some of their comments in upcoming posts.

It's been a while...

I'm sure by now many of you have given up checking this pathetic blog. After all it's been MONTHS and the delinquent blogger has done NOTHING to provide witty comments or interesting dialogue. There hasn't even been a cute picture of offspring, which often seems to fill the void. So, dear readers, I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long. This error will be corrected over the next few weeks as I attempt to explain what we've been up to and provide the requisite photo documentation...proof positive that we were actually out of town for several weeks during the blogging drought. :-)

Soap Making Fun

I tried soap making yesterday. Below is the large chunk before I cut it up into the bars above. I really had fun doing this. I got the idea and thought I'd give it a try. Actually a little nervous about doing it right...but it turned out great in the end. This batch is made with organic coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, vegetable oil, (of course, lye and water) and peppermint extract. It smells minty and fresh. Unfortunately I have to wait 4 weeks for it to cure before using it. I'm trying now to find some creative ways to package it for storage after curing. There are tons of blogs about soap making and I'm looking forward to trying something more creative (with different additives) to see how it goes...

Celebrity...I hope it doesn't go to his head...

You'd think from looking at him that he must be a celebrity...a serious rocker...you're thinking..."I've seen him somewhere before"..."what was his name again?"...yeah, he's rockin' out the new electric guitar...every night after his "day job."

6th Grade Musical

The sixth graders put on a musical with their music teacher and it was really fabulous! August was a "friar" and really enjoyed participating. The moral of the story was "swords into plowshares" which really thrilled mom and dad. ;-)

Science Fair Pictures

Here are the Science fair pics I promised. Above, Katie proudly poses with her sugar crystals, alum crystal, and borax crystals. She was proud to be the only third grader who participated in Science fair this year! August made an oral presentation about his guinea pig maze experiment and won a first place prize!